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Overview
We have reached the halfway point of the Airtel I-League but it remains as competitive and unpredictable as it was at the start of the season with debutants Bengaluru FC and unfancied Sporting Clube occupying the top two spots in the table.
Sporting Clube recorded their second straight Goan derby success as they edged past Dempo 1-0 while Bengaluru managed an impressive 3-1 away win over Churchill Brothers in Goa. Bengaluru incredibly made travel arrangements for their fans to make the trip to Goa and the team too didn’t disappoint as they notched up consecutive away wins to keep champions Churchill Brothers rooted to the bottom.
Trending
The league’s unpredictability was underlined by the fact that three teams that were in the top five at the start of the matchday were beaten. Pune FC were second coming into this round but lost 2-1 at home to Mumbai FC in the Maharashtra derby and dropped to third place. Salgaocar dropped from fourth to fifth after their losing 2-1 away at Shillong Lajong. Salgaocar were the early pacesetters but are struggling now with no wins in their last five.
But the biggest surprise was the 4-0 thrashing that United SC suffered against Mohun Bagan. In a local derby any result is possible but the manner of United SC’s defeat surprised many as the purple shirts came into this game six points ahead of Mohun Bagan, who were winless in five. But the Mariners produced their best performance of the season with debutant Christopher Chizoba bagging a brace and are now out of crisis again.
Title favourites East Bengal also had a tough time against second-from-bottom Rangdajied United in Shillong but a late winner from veteran Shylo Malswamtulunga gave the red-and-gold brigade a vital win. The result keeps them ten points off the top with three games in hand.
Results
Churchill Brothers 1-3 Bengaluru FC; Shillong Lajong 2-1 Salgaocar; Mohun Bagan 4-0 United SC; Sporting Clube 1-0 Dempo; Rangdajied United 1-2 East Bengal; Pune FC 1-2 Mumbai FC
Game of the round
Pune FC 1-2 Mumbai FC
Due to the competitiveness of the league, several matches this season have been tight encounters, more like chess games with teams canceling each other out. But the first half of this Maharashtra derby was played at a great pace with both teams playing some neat passes and looking to take the initiative rather than waiting for something to happen.
Mumbai of course are a counter-attacking team and they typically opened the scoring from a transition with NP Pradeep slotting home Nicholas Rodrigues’ low cross into the box. Pune FC used Mustapha Riga as the lone striker but the former Bolton and Levante attacker isn’t a natural centre forward and thus the Red Lizards rely more on their passing and runners from midfield. Mumbai did well for most of the first half to stop Pune midfielders from getting into the box but couldn’t prevent India international Arata Izumi from scoring the equaliser after a brilliant run from Douhou Pierre.
Both sides had to do a lot of running in the first period so it wasn’t a surprise to see the tempo drop at the start of the second period and that suited Mumbai as they were happy to defend in numbers and counter attack when necessary. They went in front after a couple of brilliant pieces of individual skill from two of their veterans. Former India captain Climax Lawrence expertly chipped the ball behind the Pune backline and 37-year-old Yusif Yakubu found the back of the net with a sumptuous volley.
Pune had conceded only once in their previous five home games but were exposed by Mumbai’s experience. The Mumbai club have been boosted by the additions of Yakubu and the loan signings from IMG-Reliance and thus no longer look like relegation candidates. When Pune chased the game in the final quarter, Mumbai took the sting out of the contest on several occasions. There were instances of time wasting also but Pune in truth didn’t create too many clear cut chances while at the other end Amrinder Singh denied Pradeep a second goal.
Result of the round
Mohun Bagan 4-0 United SC
Even the most ardent Mohun Bagan supporter won’t deny that their club were in crisis coming into this fixture as the green-and-maroon brigade were winless in their last five, scoring just once in that sequence. Skipper Odafa Okolie had failed to score in three outings and was looking like a shadow of the player that used to terrorise I-League defences. They needed something special to get the better of an in-form United SC side and that spark was provided by newly signed Nigerian Christopher Chizoba, who replaced Kenyan Eric Muranda as the club’s fourth foreigner.
Unlike Muranda, Christopher looked sharp and fit from the very first whistle. Perhaps it wasn’t much of a surprise for regular Kolkata football followers as the Nigerian was recruited by Mohun Bagan due to his impressive form for Calcutta Football League outfit (CFL) Peerless SC. But the question was could Christopher make the quick transition from CFL to I-League? He completely put those doubts to rest by scoring a first half brace, which gave his side a two-goal lead at halftime and brought huge joy to the previously disgruntled Mohun Bagan supporters.
Christopher clearly became an instant hit among the Mohun Bagan faithful and his performance looked to have inspired the entire team as youngster Ram Malik tripled their advantage with another fine team goal to virtually kill the game off at the start of the second period. The only thing missing from Mohun Bagan’s display was a goal from Odafa and that also arrived when the club captain headed home Malik’s cross to net his first goal of the season. The Nigerian had been involved in all the three previous goals but the relief on his face after scoring showed that he was desperate to find the back of the net.
It was a perfect day for Mohun Bagan and puts their season back on track but it was the exact opposite for United SC. The purple shirts remain sponsorless and now have an injury crisis as custodian Ishan Debnath broke his shin bone. First choice keeper Sangram Mukherjee is already nursing an injury while Liberian Eric Brown also suffered a knock. Their star striker Ranti Martins had another quiet outing with the service from midfield once again missing. The return of Lalkamal Bhowmick from injury was a positive but coach Eelco Schattorie has his work cut out in getting the players recover from this embarrassing defeat as it was their worst display of the season and could affect their self-belief.
Best Players
Foreigner – Chirstopher Chizoba (Mohun Bagan)
It was a dream debut for Christopher, who started the season at modest Peerless but now has become the darling of Mohun Bagan fans. He combined well with compatriot Odafa and scored a couple of very impressive goals.
Indian – Sunil Chhetri (Bengaluru FC)
The India captain has now netted back-to-back braces to become the highest Indian scorer in the league with six. Sunil still keeps playing on the left flank for Bengaluru but remains a huge goal scoring threat and his form could inspire the newly-formed club to mount a serious title challenge.
Controversy
Encouragingly there were not too many controversial moments in this round barring the verbal spats between opposition coaches in a couple of matches. There were some strange referring decisions also but then again we witness that in the best European leagues also, don’t we?
The Table (excluding Salgaocar’s potential punishment)
| Team | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Points | GD |
| Bengaluru FC | 12 | 7 | 3 | 2 | 24 | +8 |
| Sporting Clube | 12 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 21 | +4 |
| Pune FC | 11 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 19 | +4 |
| Salgaocar | 12 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 18 | +5 |
| Shillong Lajong | 12 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 17 | 0 |
| United SC | 12 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 17 | -1 |
| East Bengal | 9 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 14 | +4 |
| Mohun Bagan | 12 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 14 | 0 |
| Mumbai FC | 12 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 14 | -1 |
| Mohammedan Sporting | 11 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 13 | -1 |
| Dempo | 12 | 2 | 6 | 4 | 12 | -4 |
| Rangdajied United | 12 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 8 | -11 |
| Churchill Brothers | 11 | 1 | 4 | 6 | 7 | -7 |
